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Jeni quickly waved at the heavyset lady behind her, gesturing that she should go around. “We’re not ready yet.”
The man’s eyes went wide, and he swiveled his head around, looking confused as hell.
“It’s just, I don’t eat meat, and I was going to buy that sandwich,” she said, beyond caring that she seemed like the one out of her mind. “If you’re not a vegetarian, maybe you could choose something else. The ham and cheese or the roast beef?”
He blinked, looking between her and the food case. “No, this is the one I want.” He spoke slowly, almost like he wasn’t sure she understood English. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He shot her an irritated look and marched up to stand behind the woman Jeni had allowed to precede them.
Jeni’s mouth dropped open. She stepped forward and grabbed his sizeable bicep—and damn if it wasn’t like granite. She released her grip as if she’d been burned. “You’re really not going to give it to me?”
He peered down at her like he couldn’t believe she was still standing there. “I’m really not.”
She let out something between a huff and a grunt. Her face heated, and she fisted her hands at her sides.
What a jerk.
As he paid for his food, she belatedly realized she still had nothing to eat and swiped a yogurt parfait, the first meatless item she saw. She basically threw cash at the employee and ran outside, crossing the street to the parking lot.
He walked with casual, long strides toward the silver truck, sandwich in his hand. She jogged up behind him.
“Seriously, guy?” she said. “It wasn’t enough to ruin my morning?”
The guy stopped short and, in slow motion, turned on his heel. This time, when he met her eyes, there was recognition. His full lips slowly spread in a grin. “I thought you looked familiar. I can’t comment on yours, but I had a great morning.”
“I heard.”
His smile widened, and she had the urge to stick her tongue out at him.
“Was there something else you wanted from me? I already extended an invitation for you to join in next time.”
Jeni snorted in disgust. “All I want is that sandwich.”
“Just how hungry are you?”
“On a scale from one to ten? Seventeen.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Wow. You’re one of those people who get hangry, aren’t you?”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant. All damn day you’ve been everywhere I turn, messing with my routine. Even if I put aside this morning’s noise disturbance, you took my parking spot and stole my food.”
Confusion passed over his features. “I don’t know about the parking spot, but I paid for this sandwich. And unless you’re willing to offer me something in return, I’ll take it and be on my way.”
She grimaced at her sad-looking cup of yogurt. She held it out to him.
He sighed, shaking his head in mock sadness. “Not what I had in mind, I’m afraid. You have a good day, now.”
Jeni could only stand there in consternation as he got into his truck. He backed out, and when he put the truck in drive, he held up his hand in a wave that would have appeared friendly to anyone passing by.
Jeni knew better, and she nearly offered him a single finger in return.
Could this day get any worse?
* * *
As it turned out, it could. After a perfectly mundane experience at the planned home visit—in this job, boring was good—she returned to chaos at the office. A set of twins were in the holding room, and Sandra, who rarely got directly involved with placements anymore, pulled Jeni into the fray. They were four years old and inconsolable. One was a little boy with red hair that looked as if it hadn’t seen a pair of scissors in a year or shampoo in a month. The other was a girl who wore a winter hat despite the midday heat in the nineties. Both were thin and dirty.
“These two were walking down a major street,” Sandra said in a low voice. “The police picked them up and, when they took them home, found their father high on something and completely out of it.” She touched the cross hanging from her neck, the only outward sign she was bothered by the situation. Sandra had been around long enough to curb her reactions. “I don’t have a foster family with two beds. They’ll have to be separated.”
Jeni’s stomach dropped to the floor. In the room next to where she and Sandra stood, the children clung to each other, fear in their eyes and tears running down their cheeks.
